Last week I walked around a part of London I have never visited before. Two friends went on an adventure from their bit of town to another bit of town and enjoyed a feast for the senses: captured on film by yours truly. It was a beautiful autumnal day that started at Liverpool Station EC2. Just looking up at the sky made me feel good and happy to be right there soaking in that Victorian edifice.

Liverpool st station

And as I turned to find my way onto the streets I was ushered on my way by a group of children evacuees from WW2!

In bronze

And this before I had even opened my Hidden Walks of London book.

Turns out this walk is not so hidden as we left the station trailing a group of sightseers heading in roughly the same direction as us.

We started on Folgate street peering into windows of Dennis Sever’s house. Like most houses in and around Spitalfields it is early georgian and at that time around 1700 was likely inhabited by French Hugenot refugees who had fled religious persecution back home. They settled in London and the area first thrived as the centre of silk weaving, a skilled craft that the Hugenots brought with them from home.

Mr Severs was an eccentric American who bought the house in the 1970’s and lovingly restored it, long before this part of the east end of London became a trendy alternative/ arty place for such folk to live and display their wares in the 21st century. They do candle light tours and I am going to book myself on one of those soon. peeking into those bottom red shuttered windows just wasn’t enough!